Hurricanes power to 29–12 win at Eastleigh

Sandown & Shanklin Hurricanes won 29-12 away at Eastleigh in Counties One, with skipper, Tom Marriott, leading with a try, followed by Sam Thomas returning from injury, Michael Barrett, Ben Kulik, and player-of-the-match, Hugo Jolliffe. Zak Chiverton added 2 conversions,

In Counties 3, IW Rangers won 44-7 at home to Portsmouth in a dominant, determined, and dogged display at Wootton, with George Huish scoring an early penalty, after a series of infringements from the visitors. Dan Bishop, Sam McQueen, and James Webster were solid in defence. A highlight of the match was seeing centre, Aidan Wan, pick up a loose ball in his own half and waltz around the opposition defence for a score, with Huish converting for 10-0. This was followed by Luke Blackman scoring for 15-0, with player-of-the-match fullback, Aaron Young, touching down on the flank. Huish converted for 22-0, and Blackman crossed for his second try and a further conversion for 29-0 at the break.

Portsmouth emerged to score from a defensive error, spurring the Islanders to reply with a penalty, followed by Blackman completing his hat-trick. Huish added another kick for 39-7, and then helped Wan complete the scoring with his second try of the match for 44-7.

Also in Counties 3, Ventnor narrowly lost their table-topping clash 16-10 away at Tottonians, despite dominating the scrum through Jack Rushton, player-of-the-match Jewy Jones, and Dan Lythgoe. However, handling errors saw the Islanders concede an early penalty. Ventnor responded with Luke Butler and Tom Branagh securing a penalty, followed by Alec Bulpitt, Ben Souter, and Hayden Lythgoe setting up a tap penalty just short of the line. Harvey Wheeler and Joe Coghlan found Branagh for a score with Josh Ford converting for a 10-3 lead, before Tottonians rallied to lead 16-10 at the break.

Ventnor chased the game, but will be frustrated at not capitalising on possession, conceding territory, and Lewy Morton’s yellow card. A final try from Josh Ford was deemed held up as the ref blew for full time, and Ventnor’s lead at the top was reduced to 4 points with Tottonians having a game in hand.

A player-of-the-match performance, from Andrew Cole, inspired Sandown & Shanklin Tornadoes to win 54-7 at home to Locksheath Pumas, with 2 tries apiece from Ben Shannon, Ash Smith, and Max Henley, and a try each for Kurtis Whale and George Shannon, with 7 conversions from Gary Warvill.